Stocking and method of making the same



March 1955 B. T. R. REYMES-COLE ET AL 2,703,972

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DAVID NORMAN REYMEs RwmEs-coLe & :ToHN MAURICE REYMES REYMES-COLE United States Patent STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Bernard Thornton Reymes Reymes-Cole, Burbage, near Hinckley, David Norman Reymes Reymes-Cole, Melton Mowbray, and John Maurice Reymes Reymes-Cole, Hinckley, England, assignors to The Kendall Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 22, 1952, Serial No. 267,532

13 Claims. (Cl. 66-184) This invention concerns the toes of stockings, socks, and like articles of footwear, hereinafter referred to for the sake of convenience as stockings. Its object is to provide an improved method of producing a toe on a circular knitting machine. Heretofore in knitting a stocking on a circular knitting machine the toe pouch is knitted on approximately half the needles by relative reciprocation between the needle bed and the knitting cams, needles, being picked out of and then picked back into knitting activity by pickers. This is a comparatively slow process and the provision of the pickers is responsible for an appreciable proportion of the cost of the knitting machine. A specific object of this invention is to provide a method of knitting toe fabric by circular knitting, which may be carried out without the use of pickers. Moreover, a toe pouch knitted by reciprocation in the conventional manner requires closure by linking and it is difficult at present to get operatives to carry out the running-on operations associated with linking; a further object is a form of toe that may be closed by seaming.

The invention provides in the production of a stocking on a circular knitting machine by knitting from the toe upwards, a method of producing the toe fabric by circular knitting, which comprises withholding spaced toe-fashioning needles over at least one are of the circle from knitting activity and effecting circular knitting on the active needles, and introducing the fashioning needles progressively into knitting activity at each side of a medial point in the arc while circular knitting continues, thereby commencing new wales. These new wales shape the fabric. At the points where they commence small holes or fashioning marks appear, these fashioning marks lying on diagonal or diagonally-stepped lines. Subsequently in the manufacture of the stocking, surplus fabric is trimmed away along lines substantially parallel to these diagonal lines and the edges joined together by linking or seaming (either before or after the surplus has been trimmed away).

Preferably, but not necessarily, other spaced fashioning needles over a further are appropriate to the foot bottom are withheld from activity while the toe bottom is being knitted and are subsequentlyintroduced progressively to shape the heel and/ or leg.

If the toe-fashioning needles are introduced over a single arc, this are will comprise the needles that subsequently knit the top of the foot (termed the instep needles) and the surplus fabric will be cut away from the foot bottom. Alternatively, toe-fashioning needles may be introduced over two opposed arcs, corresponding to the foot top and foot bottom, surplus fabric being subsequently cut away at the sides.

The invention not only comprises the method as specified above but also the machine for carrying this method into effect and the stocking itself.

The foregoing and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the stocking, method of manufacture, and machine, that will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 shows the stocking;

Figure 2 shows the toe, foot and heel thereof on a larger scale;

Figures 3-7, inclusive illustrate the butts of active needles at various stages in the manufacture.

In one construction of machine according to this 2,703,972 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 ice invention independently-movable latch needles are employed and between successive needles independentlymovable sinkers are located. Mechanism is provided by which equally spaced fashioning needles, and their sinkers, throughout the entire circle may be withheld from knitting activity and brought into action as required. Preferably every second needle is a fashioning needle, although every third needle may be a fashioning needle. For the general construction of such a machine, and mechanism suitable for bringing the needles and their sinkers into action at required stages, reference is to be made to U. S. Patent 1,883,581.

At the start of the stocking 10 all the fashioning needles and their sinkers are inactive and a few courses 11 of circular knitting are produced on the active non-fashioning needles. This is the stage illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein the butts of the active non-fashioning needles are indicated at 5 n. f. It will be noted that these butts are widely spaced: indicating that the butts of the fashioning needles are disposed at another (inactive) level. After these few courses a small group of the fashioning needles in those instep needles that knit the centre of the toe are brought into activity, together with their sinkers, to commence fresh wales. Shortly afterwards a further group (with the associated sinkers) at each side of this first group is introduced and this continues until all fashioning needles through approximately half (or other desired portion) of the needle circle are then knitting. This is the stage illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein it will be observed that within the compass of the bracket 16 the butts 5 of the toe shaping or fashioning needles alternate 1x1 with the butts 5 n. f. of the active nonfashioning needles.

In a machine having 340 needles, 66 toe-fashioning needles are introduced in this manner, a group of 10 needles to start with, followed by a succession of pairs of groups whereof the successive groups consist of 10, 8, 6 and 4 needles respectively.

At each point where a fashioning needle is introduced to start a new wale there is a small fashion hole and since the fashioning needles are introduced in groups these fashioning holes are likewise arranged in groups. Each group of holes consists of a row of holes all in the same course and the groups are in V formation. In Fig. 2 the central group of holes is indicated at T, and the subsequently formed groups at one side of the centre line of the stocking (with which centre line the apex of the V is coincident) are indicated at T T T and T The introduction of fresh wales into the top 12 of the foot 13 results in the production of a pouch effect and after the stocking has been removed from the machine it is folded flat so that the two folds extend along the centre of the sole and along the centre of the foot top. Surplus material (the extent of which is indicated by chain dotted lines at 14 in Fig. 2), is cut from the foot bottom along a diagonal line which extends from the ends of the group T of toe-fashioning needles first introduced. The cut edges are subsequently seamed or linked together, the seam or linking line 15 therefore extending centrally beneath the toe as far back as the ball of the foot. In the finished stocking the toefashioning holes or marks are disposed along the sides of the toe, and the wales curve over the sides of the toe and converge forwardly to the seam.

It will be understood that the toe portion may be knitted of a comparatively stout thread or may be knitted of real or artificial silk or nylon together with a splicing thread.

At the stage when all the toe-fashioning needles have been introduced the machine is knitting two kinds of fabric, viz. the fabric of the foot top 12 in which all the needles of bracketed group 16 are active and the fabric of the foot bottom 17 in which every second needle is still inactive. Means may be provided as in the co-pending U. S. patent application S. N. 95,336 filed May 25, 1949, for evening up the loop size and for minimising or obviating visual contrast between these two kinds of fabric.

The fashioning needles that still remain inactive consist of groups 20, 20', for fashioning the thigh 23 as at 21, Fig. 1, groups 19, 19' for fashioning the calf or leg 24 as at 22 in Fig. 1, and two heel fashioning groups 13, 18' (one at each side of the leg fashioning groups and disposed between the latter and the instep needles) to be employed in fashioning the heel as indicated at 26, Fig. 1.

The heel is introduced by rotary knitting and periodically the heel fashioning needles and their sinkers are introduced into activity starting at the outer ends of the heel groups 18, 18 (i. e. those ends which are adjacent group 16). These introduced needles start fresh wales. The introduction of these new wales gives the heel fabric a slightly pouched shape which is accentuated during the subsequent operation of boarding to which stockings are invariably subjected, and also causes the compass of the fabric above the heel to be somewhat greater than the compass of the fabric of the foot, this latter being a desirable feature in ladies stockings. At the points where each new Wale starts there is a small fashioning hole and these fashioning holes are disposed on lines 25 which converge upwards. The heel pouch may be accentuated by periodically restraining the instep needles from knitting during one revolution and confining the knitting yarn or yarns to the active heel needles. This yarn therefore floats across the interior of the tube between the first and last active heel needles at each course where it is excluded from the instep needles. the floats being subsequently cut out. Alternatively the fioats may be eliminated by the use of an appropriate trapping and cutting mechanism as in British Patents Nos. 532,520 and 532,586 or 570,180.

In a machine having 340 needles, the heel-fashioning needles may number 50.

A splicing thread may be fed to the desired number of needles while the foot bottom is being knitted and the spliced area may be shaped as required. It is within the scope of the invention to introduce the heel needles in the opposite order (i. e. starting at the ends of groups 18, 18 remote from group 16) so that the lines 25 diverge from the centre of the foot bottom. In such case the splicing thread may also be fed to the heel needles so that at the heel the edges of the spliced area coincide with the heel fashioning lines. Above the heel the splicing thread may be continued to form a high s lice.

Subsequent to the formation of the heel, and at an appropriate stage in the knitting of the leg 24, on legfashioning needles 19, 19 (and their sinkers) are introduced progressively to fashion the leg as at 22. so that all or substantially all the needles are now active and only one kind of fabric is being produced. In a machine having 340 needles, the leg-fashioning needles may number 54.

The progressive introduction of the leg-fashioning needles may commence at either end of groups 19, 19. If it starts from the ends adjacent groups 18, 18, then the fashioning lines 22 converge upwardly in a manner apparent from Fig. 1. If it starts from the other ends of groups 19, 19 (i. e. those ends that are disposed nearest to the back centre line of the stocking under production) the lines 22 diverge upwardly.

If it is desired to fashion the thigh of the stocking immediately below the welt 27, as at 21. additional small groups of thigh-fashioning needles 20, 20. are provided and these needles (and their singers) are introduced progressively in a manner similar to the other fashioning groups.

The mechanism for introducing the needles and their sinkers may be as described and illustrated in U. S. Patent 1.883.581 or in copending U. S. patent application S. N. 95,336.

f desired, at the commencement of the toe all the sinkers may be active. As a result. the foot is composed of two kinds of fabrics which exhibit s me visual contrast: the instep fabric being knitted with all the instep needles and their sinkers active and the foot bottom fabric being knitted with everv second eedle inactive but with all sinkers active. Tf these conditions are permitted to prevail during the knitting of the heel. this second kind of fabric is radually confined to a narrow arc, that accommodates the leg fashioning needles. However. at some time before that part of the leg which is normallv exposed to view above the shoe. is started it is desirable to reduce or eliminate this visual contr st. Therefore the sinkers associated with the leg fashioning needles are withheld from activity (e. g. at the start of the heel) so that the desired effect is achieved in the manner specified in the said copending U. S. patent application, these sinkers thereafter being introduced as their associated leg fashioning needles are introduced.

Some of the fashioning needles may be devoted to fashioning the foot.

It is within the scope of this invention to knit the heel pouch by reciprocation in the usual manner, although by doing so some part of an advantage accruing from the invention (viz., the complete omission of picker mechanism, and of mechanism for oscillating the needle cylinder or cam box, from a seamless hose or half hose machine) will be sacrificed. It will be understood that the invention in its broadest aspect so far as it relates to the machine, provides a circular knitting machine, organised to knit a stocking foot and leg by rotation, knitting from the toe end upwards, and having independent needles, having means for withholding spaced toe-fashioning needles over at least one are of the circle from knitting activity while circular knitting is effected on the active needles, and means for introducing the toe-fashioning needles progressively into knitting activity at each side of a medial point in the arc while circular knitting continues, thereby commencing new wales. These new wales shape the fabric.

We claim:

1. In the production of a stocking on a circular knitting machine by knitting from the toe upwards, a method of producing the toe fabric by circular knitting, which comprises withholding spaced toe-fashioning needles over at least one are of the circle from knitting activity and effecting circular knitting on the active needles, and introducing the fashioning needles progressively into knitting activity at each side of a medial point in the arc while circular knitting continues, thereby commencing new wales.

2. A production method according to claim 1, including the subsequent steps of trimming away surplus fabric in the toe and joining the edges by linking or seaming.

3. A stocking, being the product of the method claimed in claim 2.

4. A production method according to claim 1 wherein the toe-fashioning needles are introduced over a single arc comprising the instep needles that subsequently knit the foot top.

5. A production method according to claim 4, wherein the surplus fabric is cut away from the foot bottom.

6. A production method according to claim 1 wherein the toe-fashioning needles are introduced over two arcs corresponding to the foot top and foot bottom.

7. A production method according to claim 6, wherein the surplus fabric is cut away at the sides.

8. A production method according to claim 1 including the production of a heel by circular knitting by withholding spaced heel-fashioning needles over an arc of the circle from knitting activity while the foot is being knitted by circular knitting and introducing them progressively into knitting activity while circular knitting continues. thereby producing new wales commencing at lines of fashioning marks.

9. A production method according to claim 1, including the further step of fashioning the leg by introducing leg-fashioning needles.

10. The method of knitting the toe portion of a hosiery blank on a circular knitting machine having a circular series of independent needles including non-fashioning needles and fashioning needles closely spaced among the non-fashioning needles, which comprises the steps of circular knitting a tubular fabric on the non-fashioning needles only, introducing the fashioning needles progressively into activity at each side of a medial point in an arc while circular knitting continues thereby commencing new toe fashioning wales.

11. The method of knitting the toe portion of a hosiery blank on a circular knitting machine having a circular series of independent needles including non-fashioning needles and fashioning needles closely spaced amon the non-fashioning needles. which comprises the steps of circular knitting a tubular fabric on the non-fashioning needles only, introducing the fashioning needles successively into activity at each side of a plurality of medial points in corresponding arcs while circular knitting continues thereby commencing new toe fashioning wales.

12. The method of knitting the toe portion of a hosiery blank on a circular knitting machine having a circular series of independent needles including non fashioning needles and fashioning needles alternating with the nonfashioning needles, which comprises the steps of circular knitting a tubular fabric on the non-fashioning needles only, introducing the fashioning needles progressively into activity at each side of at least one medial point in an arc while circular knitting continues thereby commencing new toe fashioning Wales, trimming the fabric tube formed by said circular knitting diagonally at each side of the fabric portion produced by the added wales, and securing together the diagonally trimmed edges to close the toe.

13. A method according to claim 10 in which fashioning marks on diagonal lines are produced at each side of the fabric portion produced by the added toe fashioning wales, said method comprising the additional steps of cutting away the fabric tube diagonally at each side of said fabric portion, and securing together the diagonally cut edges to close the toe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

